KRISTIE LLOYD:
Regional and remote communities in South Australia are set to benefit from a federal government funding boost. A new training site in Port Lincoln will be created and it's hoped it will encourage current and future nursing and Allied Health students to pursue a career in aged care once they're qualified. For more on this announcement, I'm joined by Federal Regional Health Minister, Dr David Gillespie. David, thanks for your time this morning.
MINSITER GILLESPIE:
Good morning, Kristie.
KRISTIE LLOYD:
And tell us what will the new training centre mean for regional health in South Australia?
MINSITER GILLESPIE:
Look, it'll be a major boost for allied health training, not just in Port Lincoln where University of South Australia will have a special training hub involving allied health and aged care. That was part of our expansion of the rural health multi-disciplinary training program. But yesterday in Murray Bridge, we also announced an expansion of allied health training - that's people like occupational therapists, physios, dieticians, and all the other students that already visit there - there's a huge a boost to the Flinders University capability in Murray Bridge. That is also coupled with an announcement today on bringing bulk billing ability to small public hospitals in Ceduna, Wallaroo, and Lameroo, which South Australia hasn't availed themselves of. It's a bit of work I've been working with Stephen Wade, the State Health Minister. It gives an extra funding boost to those smaller hospitals that rely on GPs with all the skills to look after hospital care as well as their community.
KRISTIE LLOYD:
And you mentioned that announcement today. This is, for the first time, more than 20,000 South Australians living in rural and remote communities will be able to access the bulk bill primary healthcare services. Just how significant is that for that region?
MINSITER GILLESPIE:
Look, it's a huge boost to those 20,000 people that are going to be the beneficiaries of the public hospital system, as you know. There's a lot of pressures on it around the state. In South Australia in particular, there's dozens of these smaller hospitals, and this so called 19(2) provision allows public patients in public hospitals to draw on Medicare to help fund the service. There's a commitment by the State Government to use these funds to expand the services, whether it's in acute care, or more complex multi-disciplinary care inside the hospital.
Generally, in a public hospital, Medicare is not used to fund public patients. It's a separate tranche of funds that the federal government gives the state every year, as well as in- it’s called activity based funding, and a block grant to run these small hospitals - as well as their own state funds.
KRISTIE LLOYD:
That is fantastic news for those regions. Just in terms of the new training facility that you've announced as well yesterday, how many students are likely to benefit from that?
MINSITER GILLESPIE:
Well, there's a rotation of students throughout the year. At Murray Bridge, at least 18 new allied health students because they already have visiting med students and nurses. In fact, about 500 nurses do a rotation though that training site every year, and have done for some time. There's a massive investment in South Australian medical workforce training by the federal government. We've got University of Adelaide running their rural clinical training program. Flinders University and dotted around all these areas between Flinders, the University of Adelaide, and allied with Flying Doctor Service, and country GP services, we are expanding rural, medical, nursing, and allied health training.
It's about $60 million budget and I announced that some weeks ago. People realise there is a shortage of health workers across the rural spectrum. We have way too many medical specialists and nurses, physios, allied health, concentrated in big cities. And in South Australia, there's a huge magnet that draws a lot of these professions into the greater Adelaide precincts and we're trying to do long term manoeuvres like getting rural origin students training in these wonderful rural clinical schools and I'd like to thank all the partners in that Uni SA, University of Adelaide, and Flinders. It's a really great program and these additions will make a big difference to those 20,000 or 30,000 people will be the beneficiaries of it.
KRISTIE LLOYD:
It is fantastic news. Certainly, much needed across those rural regions. Dr David Gillespie, thanks so much for your time this morning.
MINSITER GILLESPIE:
My pleasure.